Nine Trees Walking The Hills

 

I used to call this feature "Twelve From ...", but what with tariffs and trade wars, it will have to be "Nine from ..." until further notice. This, therefore, is nine photographs from last week, or Nine From The Tyne.

As Saddleworth Road runs into the town of Elland, there is a strange outcrop of trees sprouting out of the tops of truncated mill chimneys. This phenomenon is unique to this area and biologists travel from around the world to witness it. My 1980s photo captures it at an early stage of development, but I am having difficulty tracking down which chimney this actually is.

This picture of my grandparents walking along some seaside pier was taken, as far as I know, in the summer of the year peace returned to Europe. My grandmother looks almost penguin-like in her stance, but she is clearly happy. Enoch, my grandfather, looks distracted and strangely divorced from the seaside merriment. Within three years, when I came onto the scene, he had already left it.

With the hills and valleys around these parts you can position yourself on top of a hill and make eyes at the next hill. The towers and chimneys, factories and offices, that populate the valleys fall into perspective, becoming support acts to the beauty of raw nature.